Modern vehicle wheels and wheel covers can add a significant aesthetic to the overall vehicle. Wheel covers are designed to complement the paint and/or trim on the vehicle body. Various designs include, for example, wheel covers having painted accents detailed on the surface of the cover or spinning elements attachable to the wheel. One design goal is to have a road wheel that has two different surface finishes on the same Class-A surface (e.g., a painted or chrome accent).
It is desirable to have flexible wheel or wheel cover platforms that can support various aesthetic arrangements. Interchangeable features can be configured to attach to the wheel cover thereby enabling various designs on the same wheel mold. The mechanisms for attaching these interchangeable features can be expensive, less than reliable or time consuming. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,168 titled “Wheel Cover Having Interchangeable Turbine Pocket Inserts” discloses a wheel cover with turbine pockets that snap into the wheel cover. The '168 patent teaches against the use of separate fasteners to attach the turbine pockets to the wheel cover; however, the integral engagement features that enable the snap function place significant manufacturing demands on the assembly. The procedures for forming the turbine pockets and wheel cover are relatively more expensive since the design is complex. The attachment feature would be more reliable if separate fasteners were utilized. Moreover, achieving proper alignment can be time consuming.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a road wheel with interchangeable ornaments that are easily attachable to the wheel in a reliable fashion.